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The terms and conditions of the redevelopers’ agreement have been drafted for a major development project slated for Springwood Avenue between Atkins Avenue and Memorial Drive, and should be finalized by year’s end.

City officials met with members of the two organizations selected to redevelop the area earlier this week. The agreement includes stipulations for the phasing and timing of the projects and language that requires local labor and building products be used whenever possible, according to Don Sammet, city redevelopment and planning director.

The city chose Interfaith Neighbors, a nonprofit group that operates in Asbury Park, and The Michaels Organization, a Marlton-based company that specializes in affordable, mixed-financed housing as project redevelopers in May.

Plans for the project have not changed since the May proposal, Sammet said. The Michaels Organization will build three mixed-use structures on Springwood Avenue. The buildings will include residential units and spaces for commercial development. Interfaith Neighbors will construct two buildings, one primarily made up of affordable housing units and the other a center for the arts.

Preliminary arrangements for the project started 10 years ago, the majority of which were spent on efforts to acquire the land from the previous owners, according to City Manager Terence Reidy.

By the project’s completion a  mix of residential properties and commercial structures will once again adorn the strip of Springwood Avenue from Memorial Drive to Atkins Avenue, which fell in to disrepair following the riots that occurred in 1970.

[Photo at top: An architectural rendering of the building projected for the northwest corner of Springwood Avenue and Memorial Drive.]

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